The Necessary Stuff

STEP 1: The Eyes Layer

We suggest taking the photo with your non-phone camera, just so you can make it look nice and edit/crop if you need to.

Standing against a plain backdrop, have your lovely assistant Vanna take a photo of your eyes. Keep the photo closely framed, and if you need to, do some cropping afterward in Photoshop or your favorite photo editor.

Then, load this photo from your camera onto your small screened gadget. We used an iPhone here.

After that, open up the photo and display it full-screen on your small screen gadget. Hold it up to your face and you’ve now got a new set of eyes!

Tips:

If you’re using your smart phone, you can always resize your photo by zooming in if you find your photo is a bit off.

Make sure your photos have consistent lighting.

You can adjust the brightness on your iDevices in order to get them to match the ambient lighting.

STEP 2: The Face Layer

Next, let’s prepare the photo that you’ll display on your big screened gadget. We used an iPad here.

Hold your new set of digital eyes up to your face, with your lovely assistant helping you line things up with your real eyes. Then, with your regular camera, have her take a new photo of your whole face.

Now load and display this new photo up onto your big screen gadget (i.e. iPad).

STEP 3: The Final Photo!

Hold your iPad or other big screen gadget, which should now sport a stunning new photo of your face, up to cover your actual face. Line things up, and make sure that your hand is positioned so that it looks like it’s holding the small screen gadget behind the big screen gadget, too.

Then…

Have your assistant take a new, final photo with your regular camera. Tada!

Boy, this final photo’s a real keeper, we say. And wasn’t that easy?

Of course if you want more layers—perhaps with different devices for each eyeball or facial feature, or if you just want to create a swirling vortex of optical feedback—then repeat the basic step above as many times as you need. Even more ideas below!

Can You See Me Now?

Draw on each photo, MS Paint-style, before displaying it. Mustaches and unibrows galore!

GO BIG. Attila Acs used a massive screen for his see-through image which he took with the help of a friend!